


Wanted

by Tujima



Series: The Adventures of Harley Shepard and Garrus Vakarian [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Kaidan is a dick on Horizon, Profanity, angry Garrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 11:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14617953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tujima/pseuds/Tujima
Summary: Seeing your old fling after Horizon is never fun, they always come across a bit dickish (IMO).





	Wanted

_Why had he had to have been there?_

_Out of all the planets, out of all the galaxies that the Collectors were probably going to attack, why did he have to be on Horizon?_

Garrus had been going over that in his head constantly as soon as they’d gotten back to the Normandy. Just as he’d started to get Shepard to come out of her shell and get used to the world of the living once again, he’d had to show up. With his dark hair and puppy dog eyes.

Just the thought of the man made the turian grit his teeth and slam a closed fist against the wall. _That arrogant little biped_ , he growled internally as he unclenched his hand, shaking it a bit to get the pain to subside slightly. The dent in the wall could get taken care of later. Taking a slow breath, he left the main battery and started heading to the elevator, going over the day’s events in his head as he tried to figure out how to help Shepard when he got up to her.

**~*~*~*~**

They had received word that the Collectors would probably attack Horizon, and with Shepard being Shepard, they’d gone there as quickly as the mass effect drives would let them. Garrus and Mordin had gone to be her back-up, since she still wasn’t too keen on the Cerberus in the group. Upon arrival they’d been attacked by the very Collectors they’d been expecting, but thankfully they’d been safe from the seeker swarms because of the compound that Mordin had cooked up. They’d fought their way through hordes of Collectors, seeker swarms, and altered husks to get to the defense turrets, which saved the colonies buildings as it drove off the Collector’s ship. Just before they were about to leave, just as they were about to head back to the Normandy to think up their next plan of attack…. _he_ had to show up.

Kaidan Alenko.

Without Garrus having to say anything, he saw the change go over Harley. He’d watched both her and Kaidan start toeing the line when their relationship started, then fall into each other’s arms on that last suicide run after Saren on Ilos. It had been two years since they’d seen each other, though Garrus knew it was only a few weeks to Shepard, and instead of staying happy with the sight of her, he watched as Kaidan started chewing on Shepard.

The turian had watched as the look of disgust had flowed over Alenko’s face when he saw the scars that marred Shepard’s skin, and watched as the woman Garrus had grown to love started to slump her shoulders, bowing her head under the onslaught of words she had no witty reply for.

“Why haven’t you tried to contact me?” _Because she was dead, you damned idiot_.

“Working for Cerberus is a betrayal of everything we stood for.” _They brought her back to life and you expect her to just say, ‘fuck you’ and leave? They’d kill her all over again_.

“I won’t join you. I’m an Alliance soldier and always will be.” _Nobody asked you to help, bastard._

There had been a few times that Garrus had been about to say something to Kaidan, to call him on his bullshit and set him straight, but a look from Mordin had made him wait, to keep his cool.

So he had.

He’d waited until they’d returned to the Normandy. He’d waited until Shepard had disappeared up the lift to her quarters without saying a word to anybody. He’d waited a few hours before he finally decided that he had to do something.

Now he stood at Shepard’s door, something that he’d gotten used to doing in the past few weeks that he’d been there. Sighing, he reached up and knocked on the metal, waiting until he heard a faint, “come in,” from the other side before he walked into the room. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find where Shepard was, and paused when he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Slowly, he walked towards the open door and peeked in, watching as Shepard wiped her fingers under her eyes and looked over at him, giving him a weak smile beneath her slightly puffy red eyes. “Hey Garrus,” she murmured, swallowing as she went to move around him.

_Something’s odd_ , the turian thought, looking more closely at Harley’s face as she tried to walk by him, pausing as the scent of make-up flooded his sinuses. Before she got past him, Garrus put his arm out, stopping her and using his free hand to tilt her face gently upwards so he could look at her. Something was off...but what...wait--

Her scars were gone?

“Shepard...what?” he whispered, not saying any more as he watched tears flow from her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. “Oh...Harley,” he murmured, brushing his thumb gently across her cheek, smoothing away the tears that he could, pale concealer smearing onto his digit and off of her skin, exposing the red and angry scars beneath. “I’m sorry he was there, he was awful to say those things,” he continued, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, rocking her gently as she started to cry more freely and clutch at his shirt.

He stood there quietly and held her until the sobs started to dwindle, before he leaned back enough so that he could look down into her eyes, which were now redder and wet from crying. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said gently as he walked her back into the bathroom and sat her down so he was free to soak a wash cloth. Turning to her, he gently started washing her face, smoothing away what looked like layers upon layers of makeup that she’d used to cover her scars.

She’d covered them because of how Kaidan had responded. How he’d treated her. Trying to hide behind layers of makeup that she barely ever touched.

_Damned hypocritical asshole._

“He’s not worth your tears Shepard,” Garrus murmured, shaking his head as he turned away from her to rinse out the washcloth, “I...I would take care of you better than he did…,” he said softly, swallowing as he rung out the cloth the best he could. “I wouldn’t say I loved you and then take it back….I wouldn’t treat you like that….,” he continued, turning back to her, kneeling at her feet and running the cloth gently over her skin again, removing the last vestiges of makeup and tears. He tried to not make eye contact, looking at the cloth, at his nails, anything but her eyes because he knew if he did he’d stop talking, that he wouldn’t be able to say what he wanted to say.

“I just...I don’t want what he said to make you try and hide away again...I would fall apart without you,” he continued, his hands lowering to his lap, his eyes focusing on each and every fiber of the washcloth. “Everything that doesn’t make sense about me...about my life...it all makes sense when I’m with you, when you’re around...and women aren’t the only ones that find scars sexy, you know,” he added on with a small chuckle, lifting his face to look at her, pausing when he saw the look on her face. Not fear, not loathing, not even surprise had made her cheeks flush.

Love.

He had a second to register it before she slid off the edge that she’d been sitting on and onto his lap, straddling his hips as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Her lips were warm and soft against the roughness of his carapace, but his hands came up to rest on the back of her head and her thigh, holding her to him as he responded in kind. “I love you too, Garrus,” she whispered softly, “I just hope that I can be the woman you want.”

“Shepard, you’ll always be what I want.”


End file.
